Construction forms



Nov. 1, 1955 R. c. YATES ETAL CONSTRUCTION FORMS Filed Aug. 10. 1951 IIIIIIIIIIIIII Ell ll-lull"! 24 INVENTORS.

RICHARD YATESand BY LEROY E. OWEN QTTORNEY United States Patent Ofiice 2,722,045 Patented Nov. 1, 1955 CONSTRUCTION FORMS Richard C. Yates, Bingham'ton, and Leroy E. Owen,

Vestal, N. Y., assjgnors to Bingha mton Metal Forms, Inc., Binghamton, N. Y., :a corporation of New York Application August 10,1951, Serial 'No. 241,228

12 Claims. (Cl.-25118) vide novel and efiicient means for connecting adjacent ends of 'sections of forms used in the construction of roads, walks and the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel -m'eans in combination'with sectionalroad rails and similar forms for obtaining and maintaining both line and grade alignment of adjacent sections thereof.

Still another object is 'to'provide end connecting means for construction forms of'theabove character which are "simple and etfic'ie'nfboth in s'tructureandoperation.

A fur'ther object is "toprovide connecting and aligning means 'for sectional road forms and "the like which are 'Isuflicientlysturdy and rugged and novelly combinedwith said forms in such a manner'a's'to withstand the roughest use and misuse to which such equipment 'is ordinarily subjected.

Still another object oftheiinventionis to provide an end connection for sectional construction '"formswhich functions in a novel manner toprovid'e desirable rigidity a't'th'e joints 'betweenthe sections and'which materially facilitates'the connection .and' alignment'of the sections.

A still further object is 'to'p'rovide novel' apparatus'of -the'above character whereinthere are no -loose parts which afe iap'tto' be lost when the form sections "are being inoved'from 'one location to another.

Another object is "topr ovide end connecting means for sectional construction forms'which"are'novellycons'tru'c't'ed and combined withthe forms tofacilitate disconnection of the s'ectionsand removal'thereof from the structure without appreciable "danger of injuring or defacing the structure.

The above and further objects and novelfeatures of "the invention will more fully appear from the-following detail description when the same is read in connection "withthe accompanying drawings. It'is to be expressly understood,'-however,- that the drawings arefor'the purpose of illustration onlyand are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. 7

In the drawings, wherein-like reference characters-re fer to like parts throughout the several views,

Fig. 1 is anisoinetric view of one typefof road rail or curb form" embodying the,presentlinvention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevationyiew, 'partlyin"sectiomand with parts broken away, showing the adjacent" ends of two rails or forms-connected together in longitudinal aligninent-in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a sectional 'end'view taken substantially on line-3 3 of Pig. 2;

Fi'gi-4 is a detail sectional view with parts broken away, the sectionbeing takentsubstantially-mn line 4 4 of "Fig.2;

Fig. "S "is -a detail 'sectional view with. parts broken 2 away, the section being taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and i Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the locking slide which forms a part of the end connecting means comprehended by the invention.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of example, the invention -is embodied in a construction form adapted for use in the building of roads, sidewalks, curbs, or the like with concrete or similar materials which are customarily poured into the formsor molds and permitted to set or harden before the forms are removed. Sections or form bodies are made up in suitable lengths, and in use a number of form bodies are set up end-to-end along a desired line and grade in a manner well understood in the art to confine and support the concrete or other'material until hardened. The form bodies are ordinarily subjected to rough handling and other severe shocks and stresses during use and must accordingly be sturdily constructed to avoid bending and twisting thereof, and the joints between the ends of adjacent form bodies of the form should be sturdy and capable of assisting in the maintenance of the line and grade of the combined form bodies. In order to facilitate handlingof the 'form bodies which are heavy at best, the same should be constructed of as few parts as possible, and the same should be so constructed asto permit easy and accurate installation thereof by a small numberof hands in a minimum period of time. ,The means for connecting the ends of the form bodies should also be such as to facilitate 'quickand easy'disconnection of each'form body and removalthereof from the concrete or. other structure ,without damaging the latter. The novel constructionof the present invention accomplishes all of .these results and fulfills the foregoing objects.

In the embodiment shown, each form body 0 is-channel-shaped in verticaltransverse section and comprises a web ll'which normally assumes a verticalposition during use. .An upper horizontal flange ljlextends atright angles from the upper edge of the web .and is provided with 'aturned-down edge or lip 14 which-thereby forms what .may be called a doublejflange .12, 14. ,Extending at right angles fronrthe lower edge of web 11 is'a flange 13, the outer edge of .which, although not so shown, rnay be turned upwardly to .form adouble flange similar to the double flange 12,14.

Each section or form body 10 may be supported by stakes associated .therewith in i any. suitable known manner and driven into the ground. In;practice,.it is usually desirable to employ two or morestakes ,with eachform body 10. 'Inthe illustrated embodiment, only one stake and stakepo'cket areshown, by way of example, the

"samebeing of the type disclosedand. claimed in ,Yates copending application'Serial No. 146,850,: filed February '28, 1950. The stake pocket .15 consists of asheet-metal strap bent to form a bendor bight 71.6 for receiving a cylindricalstake 17.and welded or otherwise vsuitably secured at its edgestothe websllsand upper-andnlower flangeslZ, 13 of thejformbody 10. Atfiat =wedge rnember. 18 extends through .slotsin-the .side walls-of the stakepocket, and the widerportion thereof is adapted to be securely Wcdged'between .the stake' and the re- :mote ends of theslots to effect ,a rigidsupport fort-the form body. 'On a form body .ten feet long,.-two.s take pockets are usually positioned .five feet apart andtwo and one-half 'feetfrom each end so that stakes-will oc-' cur at. five-foot intervals aon aseries ,of form-bodies connected iniend-torend relation. ,tForsorne installations,

.onestakeand .stake. pocket may be -sufiicient whereas "in others, .it maybe-desirable to :use-evemmore than two on some -or--al'l' of the form bodies.

The above described form bodies are :generallyv made of steel to provideladequate strength, and the same-are accordingly relatively heavy, thus making it difiicult in practice to effect proper line and grade alignment of adjacent form bodies during installation. Novel means are accordingly provided for connecting and aligning adjacent form bodies 10, said means being easily manipulated and adapted to provide mutual end support for said form body so that less man-power is required to obtain quick and more satisfactory installation. As shown, said means comprises a rigid slide 20 mounted in a novel manner for novel cooperation with adjacent ends of two form bodies 10. The connecting slide may be formed of sheet metal cut and bent to comprise a web portion 21, an upper flange 22, a front flange 23 and a rear flange 24. A downwardly extending pivot or projection 25 is provided at the rear lower edge of web portion 21 for a purpose to be later described. In the form shown, pivot projection 25 is the lower portion of a cylindrical piece 26 welded or otherwise suitably secured to the outer face of web 21 to function as a stop in a manner to hereinafter appear. Slide 20 is preferably formed to have a sliding fit in a form body with web portion 21 of the slide in face-to-face engagement with web 11 of the form body. The height of web portion 21 plus the pivotal projection 25 is preferably about the same as the distance between flanges 12 and 13, and upper flange 22 of the slide preferably has a sliding fit between web 11 and flange lip 14. Projection 25 rests on the lower flange 13 and the rear upper portion of the slide is cut away as best seen in Fig. 2 to permit pivotal action of the slide about the contact point between said projection and the flange 13.

The lower edge of slide is guided and maintained in position by a guide 30 consisting of a flat plate secured edgewise to lower flange 13 by welding or other suitable means. One end of guide plate 30 is engaged by stop 26 to limit the forward movement of slide 20, i. e., movement to the left as viewed in the drawings. Rearward or right-hand movement of the slide as viewed in the drawings is limited by the engagement of guide plate 30 by front flange 23 on the slide. The slide is thus movably mounted on form body 10 in such a manner as to prevent ready removal and loss thereof during movement of the equipment from one location to another. When the slide is in its extreme rearward or right-hand position, it will be completely housed within form body 10 and protected thereby.

When two form bodies 10, 10 are in registering or abutting end-to-end engagement, the forward end of slide 20 slidably fits into form body 10 and cooperates in a novel manner with a fixed Wedge or cam member 31 secured to the lower flange 13' of form body 10'. In the illustrated embodiment, said cam member consists of a sheet metal block or strip having an inclined upper edge 32 and being curved inwardly or convexly toward web 11' from the lower end of the cam surface which is nearest the adjacent end of the form body. The front flan e 23 of the slide terminates short of the bottom of the slide and engages the edge 32 of cam 31. Thus, when the ends of form bodies 10 and 10 are in abutting relation. and slide 20 is moved forwardly into form body 10, cam 31 is effective to lift the upper flange 22 of the slide into firm frictional engagement with upper flange 12 of said form body. With the end of slide 20 thus wedged into position in form body 1%, the abutting form bodies are joined together in substantially perfect alignment, and the joint thus formed may be reasonably rigid. The slide may be forced into Wedging or connecting position by striking rear flange 24 a blow with a hammer or other suitable tool. In practice, one of the form bodies 10 or 10' is first set up and staked on the desired line and grade so that one end of the other form body may be supported in position by slide 20 while the stakes therefor are being set. In this way, installation with proper alignment of the farm bodies may be obtained speedily by a minimum number of men with the least amount of equipment.

It may be noted that the forward edge of the portion of slide web 21 below front flange 23 is bevelled (Fig. 2), that the forward edge of upper slide flange 22 is bevelled (Fig. 6), and that the radius of the bend between front flange 23 and web 21 is relatively large. Thus, if there is any misalignment of the form bodies before slide 20 is moved into position, these bevelled surfaces will cooperate with the end of form body 10' and force proper alignment as the slide moves from form body 10 into form body 10'.

When it is desired to remove the forms from a concrete or similar structure, it is only necessary to move slides 20 rearwardly within the form bodies on which the same are permanently mounted, and the forms may then be readily removed without danger of defacing the structure. It may be necessary to strike either flange 23 or 24 a blow with a hammer to dislodge a slide for disassembly of the connected form bodies. It may be noted that each form body may have a connecting slide at one end and a cam block 31 at the other end as shown in Fig. 1. If desired, however, alternate form bodies may have slides or cam blocks at both ends thereof.

The connection and disconnection of the form bodies 10, 10, as well as the proper alignment thereof during installation, is facilitated by the pivotal action of slide 20. When the slide is in non-operating position, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, there will be a substantial clearance between the forward end of flange 22 and flange 12 or 12 and lesser but ample clearance between the rear end of flange 22 and flange 12 to insure easy sliding movement of the slide. This clearance above flange 22 results from the counter-clockwise pivotal movement of slide 20 about pivot 26, as viewed in the drawing, and the fact that the rear end of flange 22 is forward of a vertical line containing the pivotal aXis 25 of the slide. As the forward end of the slide rides up on cam member 31 during forward movement of the slide, the latter pivots clockwise on projection 26 to bring flanges 12 and 12 of the form bodies into horizontal alignment and substantially flat engagement with the upper surface of flange 22, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 2.

There is thus provided novel construction forms comprising form bodies which are so constructed as to facilitate the installation of a series of form bodies on proper line and grade with a minimum of manpower effort and a minimum of equipment. The form bodies thus provided embody novel means for connecting and aligning abutting ends of adjacent form bodies in such a manner as to substantially solidify the joint and thus more evenly distribute the stresses and strains during use. Additionally, the end connections thus contemplated do not involve any loose or removable parts and the number of relatively movable parts is minimized. The construction of the form bodies is very simple and yet very sturdy, and the small number of parts involved may be readily and inexpensively made and assembled.

Although only a limited number of modifications of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing specification, it is to be expressly understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Various minor changes may be made in the design and arrangement of parts illustrated as well as in the materials suggested without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as the same will now be understood by those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In a construction form, two longitudinally aligned body members, each said body member being channelshaped in transverse section and comprising a vertical web and upper and lower flanges at the upper and lower edges of the web, respectively, said upper flange having a downturned edge forming a channel with said web, and means for aligning and connecting said body members comprising a sheet metal slide having a web engaging the aligned tur'necledge, a flange at the forwa "terminating short of the lower edge "wardly eittending projecti'onadjace rlt't'he rear'en'd'tif the "web portionto pivotally support sai'd fear end 'ofthe slide ngen ous webs of'said body mmbers'aflaiige at the upper edge thereof engaging-the upperiflangesof said body members and slidablyfitting between said vertical web and downriTndiof said slide'web on the lower flange of one of said body members, a vertical guide plate secured to said lower flange adjacent said slide web for longitudinally guiding said slide, a guide plate on the lower flange of the other of said body members and having an inclined upper edge engageable by the lower edge of the flange on the forward end of said slide, whereby the forward end of said slide is pivoted upwardly into frictional engagement with the upper flange of said other member in response to longitudinal movement of the slide from said one member into the other.

2. Construction apparatus comprising first and second channel-shaped body members in registering end-to-end engagement, a locking slide slidably mounted in said first body member and extending into said second body member, and cam means on said second member for cooperation with said slide to effect frictional engagement between the slide and said second body member in response to movement of the slide from said first member toward said second member, said cam means being constituted by an inclined sheet metal piece secured to a horizontal flange of said second body member and curved in a horizontal plane, said slide having a portion extending between said piece and the web of said second body member and a portion engageable with the inclined edge of said piece to guide the slide into engagement with the other horizontal flange of said second body member, the portion of said piece nearest said web being most remote from said first body member and spaced from said web a distance sufficient only to slidably receive said firstnamed portion of the slide, whereby cooperation between said cam means and said slide during said movement of the latter effects any required vertical and lateral movements of one of said body members relative to the other to bring the same into longitudinal alignment.

3. Construction apparatus comprising a channelshaped body member having a web, an upper flange, a lower flange and a down-turned lip on said upper flange, a locking slide slidably supported by said lower flange and including a web adjacent said first-named web, an upper flange adjacent the upper flange of said body member and having a close sliding fit between said first-named web and lip and laterally projecting means on the forward end only of said slide for cooperation with cam means on an adjacent channel-shaped body member, and means on said lower flange for guiding the longitudinal movement of the lower edge of said slide, said slide also including a downward projection adjacent the rear end thereof and to the rear of said upper slide flange for sliding line-contact engagement with said lower flange to pivotally support said rear end of the slide.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 comprising a second channel-shaped body member in registering end-toend abutment with said first-named body member, and cam means mounted on said second body member for operative cooperation with said slide to effect frictional engagement between said slide and said second body member in response to longitudinal movement of the slide from said first-named body member into said second body member.

5. In a construction form, firstand second channelshaped members in aligned end-to-end abutment, each said channel-shaped member comprising a web, an upper flange and a lower flange, cam means on said second channel-shaped member, and a slide slidably mounted in said first channel-shaped member and engageable with said cam means, said cam means and slide cooperating to effect frictional engagement of said slide and said second channel-shaped member in response to movement hereof arida'd'own- 6 ofthe sli'de tinto said *second channehshaped imemb er,-sa'id -Tslide having a downwardprojec'tion adjacent the end tlrereof remote from the adjacent end *of said first channelshaped member, said projection being in engagement with ihe :l-ower flange of 1 said'first 'channel shaped 'meniber for 'p'ivo'tally supporting said end *of the slide.

6. Apparatus as definedin' claim 5 wh'e'reinthe surface of said projection in engagement with said lower flange is convex.

7. In a construction form, a channel-shaped body member having a web and upper and lower flanges, and a. locking slide mounted for sliding movement between said flanges, said slide having a downward projection from the lower edge thereof adjacent the end thereof remote from the adjacent end of said body member to pivotally support the slide on said lower flange and the uppermost part of said slide terminating in spaced relation to said end of the slide, whereby upon pivotal movement of the slide in one direction the uppermost part thereof moves into substantially flat engagement with said upper flange.

8. A construction form as defined in claim 7 wherein the uppermost part of the slide is a flange which is engageable with said upper flange.

9. In a construction form, first and second longitudinally alignable body members, each said body member being channel-shaped in transverse section and comprising a vertical web and upper and lower flanges at the upper and lower edges of the web, respectively, said upper flange having a down-turned edge portion forming a channel with said web, and means for aligning and connecting said body members comprising a sheet metal slide having a web parallel to and engageable with the webs of said body members when the latter are aligned and in end-to-end contact, a first flange at the upper edge of said slide web engageable with the upper flanges of said body members and slidably fitting between said vertical webs and down-turned edge portions, said slide web having a rearward extension beyond and wholly below said flange portion, a second flange at the forward end of said slide web having the lower edge thereof above the lower edge of said slide web, and a downwardly extending projection on said rearward extension to pivotally support the rear end of the slide on the lower flange of said first body member, a vertical guide plate secured to the lower flange of said first body member adjacent said slide web for longitudinally guiding said slide, a guide member on the lower flange of said second body member for cooperation with said slide, the upper surface of said guide member being inclined upwardly away from said first body mem her and engageable by the lower edge of said second flange during forward movement of said slide from said first body member into said second body member, whereby the forward end of said slide is lifted about said downwardly extending projection as a pivot to bring said first flange of the slide into engagement with the upper flanges of said body members.

10. A construction form as defined in claim 9 wherein said guide member diverges from the web of said second body member toward said first body member for cooperation with said slide web during forward movement thereof to effect alignment of the Webs of said body members.

11. A construction form as defined in claim 10 wherein the surface of said guide member adjacent the web of said second body member is curved convexly toward said web.

12. Construction apparatus comprising a channelshaped body member having a web, an upper flange and a lower flange, cam means fixedly mounted on said lower flange adjacent one end thereof, a second channel-shaped body member in end-to-end abutment with said firstnamed body member, and a locking slide mounted on said second body member, said cam means comprising and the surface of said piece facing said web being curved convexly toward said web, said upper edge of said piece and said convex surface of said piece being adapted to be engaged by said locking slide.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Loxterman Nov. 13, 1923 Hotchkill Apr. 29, 1924 Heltzel Nov. 6, 1928 Harrold Jan. 26, 1932 

